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More about The Small Mouthed Black Bass

BREEDING AND GROWTH

The black basses belong to the Centrachidae or fresh water sunfish family and breed in the Spring. The small mouthed commences as early as April in some waters and as late as July in the far North. The spawning time depends mainly on the condition of the water, the fish showing little interest in raising a family until the temperature of the water reaches 50 degrees F. They spawn earliest in shallow waters.

The small mouthed black bass prefers to make his nest on sand, gravel or rocky ledges, the male fish doing all the nest building. Sometimes he will merely scoop out a depression in the sand and occasionally one will roll pebbles into a cluster and carefully polish each one although generally they are not as good housekeepers as their smaller cousins, the common sunfish.

When the nest is completed the fish sallies forth like a knight of old seeking ye laydie faire. When he finds her he exerts himself to make a favorable impression meanwhile driving the trying-to-appear-reluctant charmer into the nest. Here he ascertains whether or not she is ripe. If not he angrily drives her away and seeks a more suitable mate. If she is ready to expel the eggs he induces her to do so and fertilizes them as they are ejected. Upon completing this function the female's interest in the family ceases forthwith and the male proceeds to guard the precious eggs, hovering over them diligently, fanning with fins and tail to keep the water circulating over them and to prevent sediment settling. During this time he shows remarkable bravery in defending his charges and will drive away any fish regardless of size.

The eggs hatch, on an average, in twelve days depending on the temperature of the water. The fry, which are almost invisible the first few days, hover over the nest for from forty-eight to sixty hours rising and falling as the surface water warms and cools. Later the proud father leads his numerous flock to the weed beds and leaves them to fend for themselves. Here begins an existence that cannot help but breed brave, strong, lusty fishes. They are not only pursued by enemies of all sorts but soon develop a fierce cannibalism and prey upon one another. Needless to say, those that survive are extremely fit and it is this cruel, fierce youth that produces the doughty warriors that we all love to engage in battle.

The young fishes feed upon the minute organisms found in all suitable bass waters, chief of which are daphnia, cyclops and other Crustacea and larvae. The little fellows that survive attain the fingerling stage, three to six inches, by Autumn and are almost a pound in weight the following year. Thereafter they are said to gain a pound a year but I believe this estimate to be excessive. They continue growing until they reach the average maximum which is between five and six pounds. Under very favorable conditions they will exceed this weight but not as often as anglers suppose. In one lake in New York a number of specimens have been caught weighing up to 10 pounds. In the fishing contest conducted annually by Field and Stream an entry was made in 1918 that was claimed to have tipped the scales at the colossal weight of sixteen pounds but the entry was disqualified for lack of suitable evidence. The first prize went to a specimen weighing 9 3/4 pounds which is a large small mouthed bass. The average weight of the prize winners in this contest for the past eight years was approximately 7 1/4 pounds.

One of the reasons why the small mouthed bass does not attain greater size is due to its habit of spending the winters in a state of semi-hibernation, when it does little or no feeding.

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Large mouthed black bass

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